Is The U.S. Running Out of Mansions?

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File this under rich people problems: the wealthy are running out of mansions to buy.

Housing inventory is falling all over America, especially in the nation's most wealthy areas, reports a study from Altos Research, in Mountain View, California. That's a bit faster than the market in general.

Some places have experienced a drop of more than 50 percent. In Carmel, California, it's down 76 percent. At the end of May, there were only four homes priced $1 million or more.

Palm Beach, Florida mansion inventory has dropped by 70 percent, from 89 to 26. "I don't recall seeing the market like this, and it's come so quickly," said Cristina Condon of Sotheby's International Real Estate in Palm Beach. According to Condon, buyers are hungry for multi-million dollar homes--they come from overseas, as well as the U.S.

Some realtors worry that fewer inventories could thwart future sales, but others are not worried.

"The inventory is fine," said David Ogilvy of David Ogilvy & Associates.